Speaking at an open debate of the Security Council on the “implementation of development policies to silence arms in Africa”, chaired Thursday by the Head of State of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, whose country holds the rotating presidency of this UN body, Hilale said that conflicts in Africa have mutated from a conventional pattern to the involvement of terrorist groups and separatists, threatening the territorial integrity of states, but also international peace and security.
He stressed the imperative of preventing these threats to increase the chances of silencing the weapons on the continent by 2030, including through the dismantling of structures of recruitment, financing, housing and indoctrination of terrorists.
Referring to Morocco’s commitment in Africa, the ambassador said that the Kingdom has more than a thousand partnership agreements with sister African countries, as part of an active and active South-South cooperation, shaped by the enlightened vision of HM the King and His multiple tours in Africa.
He also highlighted the role of the Mohammed VI Institute of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates which provides training to African preachers to counter obscurantist thinking and violent extremism.
During this meeting, the diplomat noted that Morocco, which currently sits on the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), remains convinced that there can be no security without development, nor development without security.
In this regard, the Kingdom, in accordance with the High Royal Directives, inscribes its action around the triptych peace, security and development to ensure the prevention and a fortiori the management of conflicts and post-conflict reconstruction, said Hilale, recalling that Morocco hosted the first political conference of the AU on the promotion of the Nexus peace, security and development, from 25 to 27 October in Tangier, which has allowed, according to him, to fructify a precursory debate on the challenges that still plague the march of Africa towards development, including food and health security challenges.
The Ambassador Permanent Representative of Morocco to the UN also pointed out that the Kingdom has submitted its national report for the year 2022 on progress made in the implementation of the AU Roadmap to silence arms in Africa by 2030, adding that this report supports the achievements and gains of the Kingdom in the various priority areas of the Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism of the Roadmap.
He also said that the international community should redouble its efforts to achieve the “realistic” goal of silencing arms in Africa by 2030, adding that it is necessary to address and resolve the root causes of conflicts. “Our actions should address security, economic, climate, religious and cultural challenges and other dimensions specific to the needs of security and stability on the African continent,” he stressed.
In this regard, he called for combating poverty, hunger and social exclusion, through economic integration and development of Africa, especially within the ideal framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
This high-level open debate, enhanced by the participation of several ministers, was an opportunity to reaffirm the need to see peace and security in Africa from a holistic angle, focusing particularly on economic and development challenges, in order to end conflicts on the continent.